Greetings, everyone! My tubular cactus is probably over 50 years old and it has 5 ribs and 4 ribs. The cactus stands 83 inches tall from the floor, or 68 inches from the planter. Please forgive me for not dealing with this earlier. About 17 years ago I had the habit of taking my cactus outdoors during the summer until I pressed my luck in the fall and it got frost bitten- it has been inside ever since. A couple of tips had been damaged and I did not have the heart or knowledge to cut it, but the cactus seemed pretty happy with my care. I have never measured the damage but the damage does not seem to have spread. I recently transplanted the cactus into a 22 inch planter and now I want to cut the damaged parts off. There is some information on the internet blogs, but I would like more intimate advice. Any thoughts or ideas?
A few years ago, I looked into the cause of the brown areas and the information I found suggested that older cacti turn to a tan cork-like state, progressing from the base. However, yesterday's search about my catus issue brought up the possibility of fungus with a suggested treatment with organic neem oil.
Yes, tt looks like a typical frost damage. It is not corking, and, if it has been there for several years, not fungus either. If you don't like it, just cut it off with a clean knife. For cacti I usually use a long knife with a serrated blade.
Thank you, Mandarin. The damage happened seventeen years ago. Now that I think more about it, there was a darkened area at the base that fell off and has since repaired itself, and I don't remember if the base was ever brown at that time. Of course, I want to hope for the best and see the tan color as a natural progression of age rather than an injury, which I caused. I am grateful to have the cactus this long and with better care I hope it will live a lot longer. Here is a photo of the damaged base. Here is a photo of the opposite side of the base. Here is a close up of one of a brown tip. Obviously, I should not cut the base or the damaged tip with the older growth coming from it. Should I just cut across below the dead/darkened growth on the tallest tips? Thanks again.
Yes. The brown areas in the last set of photos looks like normal corking and callousing. It is common on this type of cactus.
